Avery De Vogelbekdieren (The Platypus)

Oaked Oude Deux, an unreleased small-batch Avery beer. Oude Deux is a drak, roasty 8% ABV beer brewed with the Rochefort Belgian yeast strain. For the oaked version, brettanomyces were added to the casks for the subsequent 9 months of aging.
Opus One Reverend, our Belgian Quadrupel. This was aged for 8 months in Opus One Cabernet Sauvignon casks. One of the casks remained somewhat neutral, the other acquired a mild sour aspect.
Buffalo Trace Reverend, aged for six months in an Eagle Rare whiskey cask from Buffalo Trace. This cask was generously loaned to us by Chris Black at The Falling Rock.

The final blend started with three barrels of the Oude Deux, imparting some oak, tannins, dark fruit and phenols. Tasted alone, the Oude Deux has a somewhat medicinal aftertaste and can be astringent. Adding three barrels of the Opus One Reverend, with its huge malt backbone and heavier wine flavors, balanced the flavor dramatically. The mild acetic acid from one of the Opus One casks imparts a surprising amount of sourness considering that it only makes up one seventh of the blend. A single barrel of the Buffalo Trace Reverend rounds the flavor out by adding a distinct vanilla component to the finish without adding too much straight whiskey flavor.

Or to summarize: 3/7 Oaked Oude Deux, 3/7 Opus One Reverend, 1/7 Buffalo Trace Reverend.
The result is De Vogelbekdieren, an approximately 10.5% ABV blend with a final gravity of 1008.

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